That's Rubbish!

Malta's 3rd Annual Ocean's Initiative European Wide Cleanup

2012-03-10T17:38:00.001+01:00

Where: Għajn Tuffieħa

When: Saturday, 24th March between 14:00 - 17:00

Coming by bus? Hop on the Number 23 leaving Valletta at 12:30pm.

For more details check out our Facebook event.

As always, bags and gloves will be provided. However, we do recommend you bring your own gardening/heavy duty gloves if you can.

Ghajn Tuffieha by Seren Ozcan

We hope to see you there! :)

One Tribe Saves The Seas on Feb 25th

2012-03-10T17:04:00.000+01:00

Thanks to the Get Up Stand Up Crew for a great gathering at the beach today for our clean up...

We all gathered together as one with some local refugees and had a lovely day in the sun.

Get Up Stand Up crew

The far end of the beach was in a bit of a state, but it didn't remain that way for long... as our Beach Cleanin Ninja's pulled on their gloves and got down to the dirty work.

No matter how old we get, boys always love getting muddy.

We found lots of wood washed up from the sea and plenty of plastic bottle caps, although I have seen the beach in much worse of a state. We got down right dirty and full of clay but that was half of the fun...

Ann enjoying her first That's Rubbish clean up!

That's Rubbish/Get Up Stand Up managed to fill 15 Rubbish bags and 5 recycle bags. It feels great to know you've saved that much more from going back into the sea.

We were pleased to get a visit from Nicole Kil Nielsen who works for the Green Party/EU Parliament in France. Her support was very much welcomed and she was so happy to see such an initiative taking place that she even wrote about this to the EU Parliament! Yay!

Romina, one of our most dedicated regulars!

Green is the New Black.. Stay tuned for our 3rd Annual Ocean's Initiative Cleanup on March 24th!

Today's team!

That's Rubbish on the Travel Channel

2012-01-12T20:48:00.000+01:00

Last year we had the pleasure of meeting the three man crew of the new Travel Channel show 'The Ethical Hedonist', which revolves around a passion for travel; the ethical way. The first episode of the series is set here, on our very own sunny island, where we were asked to take them along on one of our clean ups.

You can check it out for yourselves on the Travel Channel with the upcoming air dates on the right hand side of the page. You'll also be able to watch sections on ethical eating and filming with our friends from Birdlife Malta.

It was a great pleasure meeting you Bob & Co, and many thanks for having us!

New Year's Clean up

2012-01-12T20:22:00.003+01:00

That's Rubbish is back in action at the beach, and boy did it need a good clean. The winter currents have done their worst and dragged in heaps of plastic which littered the entire beach.

Within two hours we had collected 12 recycling bags full and 9 with other waste.

Despite not being able to get rid of all the tiny plastic pieces strewn over the rocks and sand, the bay looked miles better once we were done with it. Every item we stopped from getting pulled back out to sea is one less hazard to our Mediterranean sea life!

Thanks to everyone who came along, both old and new volunteers - it was great fun spending the afternoon with you all :)

That's Rubbish! on MaltaToday

2012-01-05T21:11:00.002+01:00

That's Rubbish kicking off the year with an article on Malta Today. Michelle speaks about how it all began, what we do and why - do take a look!

PS. Here's a quick reminder about our next clean up this Sunday, 8th Jan at Ghajn Tuffieha from 12:00 - 14:00. If you can't bring a friend along, you'll be sure to make a new one by the end of the afternoon :)

Cheers!

New Year's Beach Clean up!

2012-01-02T16:24:00.000+01:00

Where: Għajn Tuffieħa

When: Sunday, 8th January between 12:00 - 14:00

Coming by bus? Hop on the Number 23 leaving Valletta at 10:20.

For more details check out our Facebook event.

As always, bags and gloves will be provided. However, we do recommend you bring your own gardening/heavy duty gloves if you can.

We hope to see you there! :)

Il-Majjistral Nature and History Park

2011-09-09T18:23:00.001+02:00

Next clean up with Il-Majjistral Nature and History Park...

Where: Għajn Tuffieħa ex military barracks

When: Saturday, 24th September between 16:00 - 19:30

Getting there (click here for map):
By bus: Route 21, 23. Stop at Golden Bay bus stop (near the hotel). From here it is 400m away on foot.
By car: Park in the grounds behind the Ħal Ferħ Complex and walk up to the barracks (200m).

Facebook event: Click here!

As always, bags and gloves will be provided. However, we do recommend you bring your own gardening/heavy duty gloves if you can.

We hope to see you there! :)

International Surf Day 2

2011-07-18T20:44:00.007+02:00

What a weekend! International SurfDay was a great success.. many thanks to all who participated and a special shout out to Ashley Kind (DJ DIGITS/UK), Camille Corbillé (Jah Baazz) & Ghyslain ARMAND our live music duo.

Further thanks go to Corona Extra Malta Save The Beach, Riviera Martinique & Monster Drinks for supporting and sponsoring this event!

Two down.. many more to go! ;)

Green Hands Clean Up

2011-07-18T19:13:00.007+02:00

Great Gathering @ the Green Hands Cleanup today in Gozo! Thanks to Iva Jedlikova, Tonja Moeller & Utina (Dive College) for collecting the Divers who swept the sea sparkly and to all the Green Hands who Dare to Care (special thanks to all of you who made the effort to make it from Malta as well)!

8 Rubbish Bags & 9 Recycle Bags filled, one pair of wings found ;/, one octopus saved... stay tuned for the next one!!

Greener Cleaner Lands Thanks to all Them Hands ;)

For all the event photos please click here!

That's Rubbish & Corona Malta Extra Save the Beach!

2011-04-21T14:00:00.005+02:00

Next clean up...

Where: Gnejna Bay

When: Sun, 8th April @ 11:00

Facebook event: Click here!

*For those of you who need transport we will be meeting @ Exiles parking lot in Sliema, just below the playground @ 10.30am SHARP (this is the time the transport will be leaving so please be prompt if you require a lift!). The transport will then return you to Exiles once the cleanup is over.

As always, bags and gloves will be provided.

We hope to see you there! :)

Ocean & Earth cleanup / Oceans Initiatives 2011

2011-04-21T13:06:00.007+02:00

The long awaited Ocean & Earth cleanup/Oceans Initiatives 2011 got off to a great start with lots of old and new faces eagerly snatching up rubbish bags and asking where to begin.

To our delight the main beach area was relatively clean, however the surrounding hills were scattered with bottles, wrappers and tissues.

Everyone quickly split up into teams and were assigned areas to see too and within an hour a huge mound of rubbish bags started piling up at our meeting point.

Sadly we came across a cruel reminder of the damage plastic and rubbish is having on our wildlife. This Cory Shearwater was found washed up on shore, tangled in rope and plastic.

We decided to venture over the clay cliffs and down to the tiny cove that lay beneath. We were met by hundreds upon hundreds of bottles washed up by the sea. We jumped to it and after a lot of hard work, had plenty of bags to tediously scramble up the cliff side with. With every two steps we seemed to slide down one but we made it eventually!

A big thanks to Oceans Initiatives for providing us with their support and huge eco friendly rubbish bags to make our beaches shine again!

Great work guys, until next time!

Valentine clean up

2011-03-05T19:04:00.003+01:00

We had a great turn out this fine Sunday afternoon - a perfect welcome back gift for Michelle after her Morocco adventure.

The team, which consisted of a number of youngsters this time round, split into two; half focused on the Ghajn Tuffieha sands while the others skidded their way down the clay cliffs at the far end of the beach, to a beautiful little cove in desperate need of a clean.

It was by far the most physically demanding clean up to date, but also the most enjoyable. With some good old That's Rubbish team work we hauled over 20 rubbish bags full up the cliffs and over to the car park, along with another dozen or so bags from the rest of the group.

Big thanks to everyone involved - it was great to see so many new faces and a pleasure to work with you all. See you at the next one!

Spear the Beach with Love

2011-01-24T21:33:00.002+01:00

Next clean up...

Where: Ghajn Tuffieha / Riviera (down on the beach)

When: Sun, 13th Feb @ 12:00

Facebook event: Click here.

*bags and gloves will be provided*

We hope to see you there! :)

New Year Trash Clear

2011-01-24T20:30:00.006+01:00

Yet another pleasant surprise awaited us at the beach this fine Saturday afternoon, with very little in the way of washed up rubbish on the sand. We did find a fair amount of trash along the pathways on the slopes, but not at all bad for 5 weeks of absence in comparison to last year.

It was great seeing regular and new volunteers...

And old friends and youngsters...

A big thanks to everyone for making our first clean up of the year another success!

28th November Clean up

2011-01-24T20:26:00.001+01:00

It was a perfect, sunny afternoon and our 9 person, cultural cocktail of a team (not one of us was born in Malta!) made quick work of the rubbish on the beach.

Despite there being over 10 bags full by the end of the clean up, this was when we first noticed that the volume of rubbish on the beach was much lower than it was at the same time last year. Whether this means there's less trash in the sea or the the currents have dragged everything elsewhere, we don't know, but let's hope it's the former!

Great work guys (and girl!).. hope to see you at another one soon :)

Be Green Halloween!

2011-01-23T21:43:00.003+01:00

Our turn out was small but luckily the beach was very clean! Mighty impressed ;) We only filled up six rubbish bags! D-Lighted! The sun was shining and a few of the volunteers even enjoyed a swim.

We would also like to send out a big thanks to Andrew McGrath for choosing That's Rubbish! as his first initiative for his upcoming site planetscrub.com which will document all of the hands on ventures happening globally to help our environment. We'll be sure to upload the link once it's up and running!

Get your gloves on!

Summer's End Sweeper Upper

2011-01-23T21:26:00.005+01:00

Welcome back fellow Eco Warriors! This was the first That's Rubbish! cleanup after the summer break, and the sands sure needed our hands! There were places behind the bushes where loads of beer cans etc. were dumped... it was an ugly sight but before long our volunteers had it all cleared up! The majority of this rubbish was luckily 90% recyclable.

This time around we filled up more recycle bags than garbage bags. The turnout of volunteers was also impressive considering it was our first time reuniting after the summer break, and lots of new faces were there too!

Thanks to all of you for coming down and doing something with your Sunday that counts!

Summer's End Sweeper Upper

2010-09-19T00:29:00.005+02:00

We're back on the beach!

Where: Ghajn Tuffieha / Riviera (down on the beach)

When: Sun, 26th Sept @ 11:00am

Activities:

11:00 - 13:00 > Beach Clean Up (gloves and bags will be provided)
13:00 - 14:00 > Sea Clean up (bring snorkels and nets if you can!)
Optional Yoga lesson by our very own Michelle Bartolo.
DJ Digits will be spinning tunes throughout!

Facebook event: Click here.

We hope to see you there! :)

Back to Buskett

2010-09-18T23:55:00.006+02:00

We'd left Buskett a cleaner place back in May but there was still a lot of work to be done. Our friends from GreenHouse Malta were up for the challenge and took charge of the next assault on the rubbish in the woods, and together we accomplished what we originally thought would be impossible, all within a few hours.

GreenHouse also brought entertainment and some of the best vegan food I've ever tasted to the woods that evening. A multi cultural jamming and chow down fest ensued, with everyone thoroughly enjoying the peaceful night atmosphere.

Huge thanks to Joseph, Monique and Malcolm for all their hard work with the organising and to every volunteer who helped us give this section of Buskett a well needed make over. We look forward to working with you guys again!

Back to Buskett!

2010-07-17T18:05:00.002+02:00

It's time to head back to the wonderful woods of Buskett to continue what we started. This time, however, we're going along with our friends from GreenHouse Malta who have organised the entire evening's activities.

Where: Buskett - meeting under the canopy/carpark

When: Fri, 23rd @ 17:00

Activities:

17:00 - 19:00 > Clean up

19:30 - late > Live music, jamming, fair trade food & drinks against a donation

Facebook event: Please click here.

Please confirm your attendance by sending an email to: green.uom@gmail.com!

* Gloves & bags to be provided

* Transport / carpooling available after (please inform us in your email if you'll need the ride back)

Looking forward to seeing you there! :)

International Surf Day & clean up

2010-06-25T09:08:00.012+02:00

Photo by Holly Mitchell

To celebrate Malta's first International Surf Day this Sunday, 20th June, we hit Ghajn Tuffieha with bags, gloves, surf boards galore and a sweet sound system thanks to our very own DJ Digits.

Photos by Joe Muscat

With help from people of all ages and walks of life, we set to work on the sand and surrounding cliffs. After some hard work in the sun we kicked back and relaxed to Ash's tunes - some with cold drinks, some swimming and some getting their first taste of surfing thanks to the pros from Surf Malta.

Photo by Joe Muscat

Photo by Holly Mitchell

Big thanks to everyone for making it a memorable day!

Photo by Holly Mitchell

Earth Garden 2010

2010-06-09T22:37:00.005+02:00

This year's Earth Garden was a great opportunity to expose our cause to the public and thanks to our volunteers we did just that. Our brand new shirts sold like hot cakes and it was a wonderful feeling spotting strangers walking around with our logo on their chests.

Big thanks to Intervisions for our great new banner which they kindly donated, our main sponsors NEXT for doing our shirts, Jody from Defined Branding for the fantastic artwork, Malta.com for the support and exposure and everyone who helped make the event happen, donated or pledged to come to our next clean up. See you at Ghajn Tuffieha on the 20th of June! :)

International Surf Day clean up!

2010-06-04T01:59:00.004+02:00

International Surfing Day, held annually on or near the date of the summer solstice (usually June 20th) is an unofficial, environmentally conscious sports centered holiday that celebrates the sport of surfing, the surfing lifestyle and the sustainability of ocean resources.

This year Surf Malta (MSA) & That's Rubbish Malta are organising this event for the first time in Malta where we will be promoting our Plastic Kills campaign.

The day will start off with a beach clean up with voluteers and the general public, followed by surf lessons and games on the beach, a live band, DJ and activities all round.

Where: Ghajn Tuffieha

When: 10:00 - 20:00

Facebook event: Click here.

Looking forward to a great day at the beach!

23rd May clean up

2010-06-03T16:35:00.005+02:00

A hard working quintet were the force behind our first clean up away from the beach, and boy did Buskett need a helping hand! Being the largest woodland area on the island and a hot spot for picnickers, it quickly became clear that we had undertaken a mammoth task.. one which would need many more volunteers and many more visits to cover.

We mainly focused on the deepest parts of the wood which had been left neglected for a very, very long time, evident from glass bottles that aren't even in production any more and non-biodegradable plastic bags that had actually started falling to pieces.

15 bags and several hours later we hauled the rubbish back to the starting line happy with what we had achieved. Due to the sheer size and man power needed to help restore this beautiful place back to its natural state, we'll be heading back again soon with our friends from GreenHouse Malta for another clean up, so stay tuned for the date!

Many thanks to new comers Mike & Pennie! Catch you at the next one.

Next clean up!

2010-05-21T12:46:00.005+02:00

This month we're venturing into the woodlands - Buskett. We aim to clear up this picnickers paradise to restore it to its natural beauty and then become the picnickers ourselves for a fun filled afternoon bursting with yummy snacks!

Where: Buskett (meeting at the car park under the large canopy).

When: 11:00

Facebook event:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=103198693059965&ref=ts

*Gloves and rubbish bags will be provided*

Don't forget to bring along some munchies! :) See you all there.

We're on the Times of Malta & the new logo revealed.

2010-05-11T16:56:00.007+02:00

Great coverage of the group over the past few weeks - we've even made it into the newspapers this Sunday. Many thanks for the support!

Check out the article here (photo by Chris Cachia Zammit).

Another big thanks goes out to our very own artist Steffe Warrington for our official new logo and Emil Brikha for the photoshop help.

Stay tuned for the next clean up date!

We're on TheCodeTV!

2010-05-08T23:47:00.006+02:00

Michelle Bartolo speaks to www.thecodetv.tv about our work.

Check out the video here.

A big thanks once again to Brian Azzopardi & co. for helping us share our story!

25th April clean up

2010-04-28T02:21:00.014+02:00

Our merge with the Malta Surfing Association (Surf Malta) brought a much welcomed addition of several surfers to the clean up, who kindly gave up some of their time before hitting the waves. We were all very pleasantly surprised at the amount of rubbish we found on the beach this time round - mainly due to what appears to be local council cleaning during the summer months.

A big thanks goes out to Ann Zammit from the Sunday Times for coming down to support the group and to Brian Azzopardi from CODE.TV for taking some footage of the clean up.

The long awaited installation of several waste and recycling bins was a welcomed site and will hopefully encourage more beach goers to bin their rubbish in future, instead of littering the sand and sea.

Thanks as always goes out to all the new faces, surfers and regular volunteers for another job well done. Catch you at the next one!

Next clean up!

2010-04-18T16:53:00.009+02:00

J
oin us on our first summer clean up of 2010 as we fight to keep our seas and shorelines plastic free!

Where:

Ghajn Tuffieha (meet down on the beach)

When:

14:00 - 17:00

Facebook event:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/event.php?eid=114934198518321&ref=mf

We hope to see you there! :)

21st March clean up

2010-03-24T03:55:00.009+01:00

We couldn't have asked for a nicer day to take part in the 'Oceans Initiative' project by the Surfrider Foundation. We were one of 809 clean ups that took place all over Europe during a 4 day period, making sure Malta gave its contribution to a great cause.

A pleasant surprise awaited us at the beach - the usual mountain of plastic we witness over the winter months was nowhere to be seen! This meant we could focus our attention on the little bits this time round, thoroughly digging into the rocks and pebbles to get at those nasty bottle caps and other marine life-threatening bits and pieces.

Photo by Chris Cachia Zammit

We also took the opportunity to collect signatures for the Surfrider's 'Rise Above Plastics' campaign, bringing attention to the volumes of plastic waste dumped in our seas and oceans. Our young eco-hero Miguel charmed his way across the beach enthusiastically sharing our initiative with the all sunbathers who were quick to add their names to the list.

A nice relaxing evening followed where most of the gang chilled by the water soaking up the last of the warm spring sun. A huge thank you goes out to all who participated - we hope to see you guys again at the next clean up!

Photo by Chris Cachia Zammit

Check out how the other clean ups around Europe went here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=401676&id=41452575362&ref=mf

World wide clean up!

2010-03-01T01:06:00.014+01:00

Exciting stuff! 'That's Rubbish' has officially confirmed its participation in a world wide 4 day clean up event through the Surfrider Foundation! To date 771 individual clean ups are set to take place around the world between the 18th and 21st of March, most of which have been organised in Europe. France lead the Green-Cavalry with an astounding percentage of the voluntary events, followed by Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland.

We are proud to ensure Malta has its own little flag on the Surfrider map and will be heading down to Ghajn Tuffieha to do our bit on the first day of Spring - Sunday, 21st March!

Check out the official link below:

http://www.initiativesoceanes.org/index.php

Where: Ghajn Tuffieha (meet down on the beach)

When: 14:00 - 17:00

After: If the weather permits we can have a sunset Yoga session for anyone who'd like to unwind and then head off to play some pool!

If anyone is willing and able to publicise this event for us by posting this info at their school, office or local shops that would be a great help... camera people of all sorts are welcome to come give us a shoot too!

*Rubbish bags and gloves will be provided*

Hope to see you there! :)

21st Feb clean up

2010-02-23T03:27:00.012+01:00

A beautiful sunny day with a cool sea breeze was just what we'd hoped for. We'd like to take this opporunity to thank the lovely Audri and Jessica who drove up just in time to shower us with Red Bull to energise our clean up, and then down the steps we went!

In addition to the usual rubbish collecting, this time round we also attempted a simple sieving system to try and get rid of the smaller pieces of plastic that littered the sand.

Locate lots of plastic... check.

Sieve out the large pieces.

Onto the smaller bits...

Voila! What sand should really look like.

It was a successful attempt but a very time consuming one, so many more nets and many more hands would be needed next time round to make a real visible difference over the entire beach!

Two hours later the hard working team had collected a record volume of rubbish and stacked it proudly at the base of the steps for our custom group photo.

Another job well done and off to the bowling alley for a good time amongst awesome people... (photos of gutter balls too embarrassing for this blog). Thanks to all for joining!

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

2010-01-09T14:36:00.048+01:00

''Only we humans make waste that nature can't digest.''

What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

The Pacific 'garbage soup' as it is commonly referred to, stretches from China to California, covering an area larger than the continental United States, 80% of which is made up of tiny, non biodegradable shards of plastic.

Since Petroleum based plastics are non biodegradable, any entering the oceans remain there, breaking into smaller and smaller pieces until they are ingested or deposited on some distant shore.

The catastrophic effect this amount of human waste is having on the environment is the most evident with marine and bird life who constantly mistake this rubbish for food. Sea bird carcasses have been found with alarming volumes of plastic in their bellies, ranging from bottle caps to lighters to fragments of styrofoam.

The dead body of a fledgling Laysan albatross with more than half a pound of plastic in its stomach.

Contents of another bird's stomach, over half of which is human waste.

Plastic bags, often mistaken for jelly fish, have led to the suffocation of thousands of turtles. Items such as plastic rings and six-pack holders have also resulted in some excruciating and shocking deformations.

With such effects being evident on wildlife, many concerns have naturally risen about how our own food chain is being effected. With this in mind, studies on hundreds of samples of the most common fish in the ocean (some at the bottom of the food chain) showed that over one third had polluted plastic fragments in their stomachs. The record holder - one small specimen only 2.5 inches long, had 84 pieces in its tiny stomach. The leading authority on the subject, Captain Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation who first discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch has gone as far as stating: ''You can buy certified organic produce, but no fish monger on earth can sell you a certified organic wild caught fish.''

One may of course take this opportunity to point out that these issues are simply not relevant on our island, being so far from the Pacific Ocean and protected by such a narrow opening at the Gibraltar Strait. Unfortunately, however, as a regular volunteer of the group 'That's Rubbish', evidence on our very own beaches have revealed a worrying similarity to the problems occurring half way around the world. The strong currents around the beautiful beach of Ghajn Tuffieha, especially during the winter months, have dragged in vast amounts of discarded items including fishing nets, rope, bottles, large plastic containers, and the most common items - hundreds upon hundreds of bottle caps and thousands of small fragments of plastic. These tiny particles appear to be identical to those discovered in the Pacific 'garbage soup', in their birds and in their fish. As it can take years for containers to break down to these minute sizes, one can only imagine how long these items have been floating around the sea, and how many of them have ended up in the stomachs of the fish we may have consumed.

Ghajn Tuffieha, 27th December 2009.

So what is the solution to this great ocean threat?

Captain Moore has stated that realistically, completely eliminating the plastic content of the ocean is now beyond the budget of any country and the damage it has created until now is quite possibly irreversible. Our responsibility now lies in preventing even further damage by stopping the plastic at its source - stopping it on land before it finds its way into the sea.

So, what can you do?

Reduce the amount of plastic you use.

~ Give up plastic sandwich bags and use long lasting tupperware instead.

~ Stop buying bottled water (some households can get through over 1000 2L bottles a year). Consider installing a small reverse osmosis system to purify tap water which can pay for itself within 12 months.

~ Instead of buying a drink for lunch every day, bring one with you from home and re-use the bottle.

Bin it.

~ It takes half a second to slip whatever you're done with in your pocket until you find a bin to dispose of it safely.

Recycle.

~ With local councils picking up recyclables from our very doorsteps on a weekly basis, we have no excuses to not recycle.

Educate.

~ Forward this article to family and friends.

~ Lead by example and influence the people around you into picking up more responsible habits.

Act.

~ Join us on one of our beach clean ups. See a fraction of what is out there littered on our shores and help us keep that mound of rubbish from polluting and killing the sea's beautiful creatures.

~ Know of an area by the coast that's in a bad state? Get in touch with us at info@thatsrubbishmalta.com and we'll try to help you organise a clean up there.

Paul Watson, one of the greatest wildlife conservationists of our time, once said ''If the oceans die, we die.''

I believe him.

Do you?

Dave Gladwish

27th & 29th Dec clean up

2009-12-30T21:23:00.006+01:00

The strong winter currents once again piled tonnes of rubbish onto the beach, the far side being so bad we could barely see the ground beneath it. It was a shocking site, even to the regulars of the group. The bewildering question on everyone's mind.. who on earth was throwing all of this into the sea? With such a large volume of the rubbish looking like edible material to marine life, it was a sad reminder of how little respect some individuals have for the illusive creatures of the mediterranean, such as turtles, dolphins and sharks.

Bad weather cut the original clean up short but didn't stop a handful of determined volunteers from collecting an impressive amount of trash despite the wind and rain.

Two days later a few of us managed to get back down to the beach to finish off what the others had started and collected close to 20 bags full.

A cleaner beach for all to enjoy and a good many turtles with less plastic to suffocate on. Big thanks to all who joined!

29th Nov clean up

2009-12-30T19:41:00.009+01:00

A handful of the usual dedicated volunteers and several new faces were met with hot weather despite it being the end of November. This time, an even greater emphasis was made on separating the recyclable items from the rest of the rubbish. We can across long lines of rope washed in by the sea, half a BBQ set and an entire curtain!

Many ripped lengths of plastic were also found buried in the sand, most likely having been thrown overboard industrial ships.

Another great clean up with smiles of satisfaction all round!

18th Oct clean up

2009-10-20T00:18:00.009+02:00

As we slipped on our gloves at the windy beach, a swarm of foreign students made their way down the Ghajn Tuffieha steps. Much to our surprise, instead of pulling out towels and drinks, they walked straight up to us and asked for bags, turning an 8 man team into our record turn out of 26 volunteers.

Two hours and 32 bags of rubbish later, we heaved everything back up to the roadside to be picked up and taken to the landfill where it all belongs. We would like to thank the ever supportive regulars and each and every one of our surprise student volunteers for giving up your Sunday afternoons to give us a helping hand. Cheers!

Photography by Chris Cachia Zammit

7th June clean up

2009-08-16T00:12:00.006+02:00

With the beach being so packed this time round, most of us headed to the outskirts of the area in groups. Shoes, rusty old chairs, rope, the usual tons of plastic and cans... we found it all.

The highlight of the evening was a group of kids who came up to us asking for gloves and bags to help out. They rushed into the crowd and came back with a somewhat alarming stash of cigarette butts.

Our thanks to the nameless youngens who spent their evening cleaning up after the so called responsible adults who littered the sand in the first place!

Another fulfilling day :-)

19th April clean up

2009-07-27T19:23:00.003+02:00

Yet another great turn out with plenty of new faces in the team. The beach was quiet so we managed to give it a thorough seeing to and had it looking spotless in no time.

We then relaxed until sunset and enjoyed getting to know the new guys a little better over cold drinks. Another great day in the company of awesome people.

1st March clean up

2009-07-26T18:03:00.006+02:00

The number of new volunteers took us aback as we met up in the Ghajn Tuffieha car park - family, friends, friends of friends and even complete strangers were turning up to give us a hand.

With well coordinated teamwork the SAS would be proud of, we hauled in our biggest heap of rubbish yet.

Seeing so many people work together for a common cause was an awesome experience - one we hope to repeat over and over to maintain the beauty of our shores.

1st Feb clean up

2009-07-26T15:49:00.009+02:00

A week later we returned to the beach with double the man power. The beach was still in an awful state and more and more rubbish was being dragged out to sea every day. Bottle caps, rope and plastic bags have all proven to be fatal to many species of marine life - thousands of turtles alone die each year by mistaking plastic bags for jelly fish.

With this in mind and a desire to get our beach back to its former glory, we grabbed our bags and gloves and set to work, slowly but surely working our way up the beach. The difference last week's clean up had made was evident but by the time we were done with this one it looked like a completely different place.

We proudly stacked the mounds of bags at the top of the Ghajn Tuffieha stairs and set off for a well earned cold drink amongst great company.

25th Jan clean up

2009-07-26T15:26:00.003+02:00

Over the winter the beautiful Ghajn Tuffieha was left abandoned, which resulted in a horrific sight when we made it down to the sand.

Within a few hours we'd collected over 20 bags of rubbish and countless other bits and pieces that would have otherwise been washed out to sea. The huge task of restoring the beach to its natural state was by no means finished, but a dent had been made and we went home with a feeling of great accomplishment.